The Arnold Arboretum is a public-private partnership of the City of Boston and Harvard University, but derives all funding from past and present philanthropy. Founded through the bequests of farmer Benjamin Bussey and whaling merchant James Arnold, the Arboretum blossomed through important contributions like the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection and the extensive book collections of […]
A “spontaneous” plant is defined as one that grows and reproduces without human care or intent. In the early twentieth century, Arnold Arboretum botanist Ernest Jesse Palmer collected over 2,000 herbarium specimens to represent the spontaneous plants that occurred on the Arboretum grounds. Palmer wanted to know how spontaneous vegetation reacted to the drastic changes […]
When our founding director Charles Sprague Sargent assumed leadership of the organization in 1873, the Arnold Arboretum as we know it today [pdf] was unformed. Benjamin Bussey’s mansion and outbuildings still stood on the grounds but there were no formal roads to draw the public into the landscape. Sargent set about immediately planning the new […]
The Restoration of the James Arnold Mansion James Arnold (1781-1868), in whose honor our institution and grounds are named, was a successful whaling merchant who made a generous bequest to be used for “…the promotion of Agricultural, or Horticultural improvements.” During early 1872, Harvard College combined Arnold’s gift with 123 acres of land donated by […]
Bussey Hill, spring, South Street, 1940 Alternate Title: Torch Azaleas (Rhododendron kaempferi) near South Street Photographer unknown Bussey Hill, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States May 1940 A larger version of this image is available in Harvard University’s HOLLIS+ catalog. Bussey Hill formed the nucleus of The Arnold Arboretum in 1872. The 118-acre estate […]
On Monday, March 21, Arcadia Publishers released the latest volume in their long-running Images of America series—Arnold Arboretum by Lisa Pearson. The 128-page book features nearly 200 historical black and white images that tell the story of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in Boston, from its days as the colonial era estate of Benjamin […]
Roads, fall, Bussey Hill Road, construction, 1890 Alternate Title: Ground prepared and marked for the construction of Bussey Hill Road Photograph by Boston Parks Commission, Boston, MA, United States Bussey Hill Road, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States October 1890 A larger version of this image is available in Harvard University’s HOLLIS+ catalog. The […]
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